Cost of living comparison

Wisconsin, USA

compared to

District of Columbia, USA

District of Columbia vs. Wisconsin Cost of Living Summary

District of Columbia is 60.9% more expensive than Wisconsin.

Restaurants: pay 39.4% more in District of Columbia
Groceries: pay 43.8% more in District of Columbia
Transportation: pay 36.4% more in District of Columbia
Housing: pay 94.5% more in District of Columbia
Childcare: pay 90.6% more in District of Columbia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 69.6% more in District of Columbia
Clothing: pay 25.5% more in District of Columbia

The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in District of Columbia are more expensive than in Wisconsin. Notably, housing and childcare are significantly more expensive in District of Columbia.

District of Columbia vs. Wisconsin Cost Breakdown

If you lived in District of Columbia instead of Wisconsin, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 39.4% more for restaurants

	Wisconsin	District of Columbia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.96	$28.00	+65.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.29	$12.00	+16.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.64	$3.17	+19.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.87	$2.64	+40.9%
Average			+39.4%

Wisconsin vs. District of Columbia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 43.8% more for groceries

	Wisconsin	District of Columbia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.99	$4.11	+37.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.60	$8.53	+52.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16	$4.95	+56.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.75	$5.64	+50.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.96	$7.63	+53.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.16	$3.17	+46.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.68	$1.06	+56.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59	$2.27	+42.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.19	$2.64	+20.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93	$1.29	+38.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.31	$1.73	+32.2%
Average			+43.8%

Wisconsin vs. District of Columbia - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.4% more for transportation

	Wisconsin	District of Columbia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.52	$4.19	+18.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.22	$120.00	+138.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,142.07	$36,375.00	+13.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.59	$16.73	-4.9%
Average			+36.4%

Wisconsin vs. District of Columbia - Cost of transportation

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pay 94.5% more for housing

	Wisconsin	District of Columbia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$63.31	$77.77	+22.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,248.89	$2,717.33	+117.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$984.41	$2,228.89	+126.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$143.84	$161.22	+12.1%
Average			+94.5%

Wisconsin vs. District of Columbia - Cost of housing

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pay 90.6% more for childcare

	Wisconsin	District of Columbia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,398.68	$3,221.33	+130.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$26,322.35	$41,506.00	+57.7%
Average			+90.6%

Wisconsin vs. District of Columbia - Cost of childcare

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pay 69.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Wisconsin	District of Columbia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.93	$9.00	+82.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.27	$6.15	+16.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.95	$13.94	+40.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.19	$114.30	+158.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.78	$18.00	+52.8%
Average			+69.6%

Wisconsin vs. District of Columbia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 25.5% more for clothing

	Wisconsin	District of Columbia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.95	$71.42	+43.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.09	$44.11	+7.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.98	$104.50	+24.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.26	$125.16	+30.0%
Average			+25.5%

Wisconsin vs. District of Columbia - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: October 2026

Compare further: Wisconsin vs. District of Columbia

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Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Make 3.5 times more money in District of Columbia

Size Comparison · See true size

Wisconsin is about 795 times bigger than District of Columbia.

Moving from Wisconsin to District of Columbia · Cost, visas & climate

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City Size Comparison · See true size

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